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May 26, 1999

BELL ATLANTIC PLEDGES $250,000 FOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM AT UMBC

BALTIMORE -- Financial aid will be available to the brightest and neediest students planning to attend the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), with the help of grants totaling $250,000 from Bell Atlantic.

In response to a statewide need for information systems skills in the work force, the Bell Atlantic Foundation will give UMBC $150,000 over the next three years to help endow the Bell Atlantic Foundation Scholars Program. An additional $100,000 from Bell Atlantic also will go toward this program to help fund four full-term scholarships for high school graduates majoring in information systems, computer science or computer engineering. UMBC will contribute additional funds from its own endowment.

"We are very grateful to Bell Atlantic for making these grants possible because they will help talented students meet the financial challenges of pursuing a degree," said UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski III. "As a result, the partnership between UMBC and Bell Atlantic will build a stronger, better educated work force and a more vibrant economy."

"Bell Atlantic has a century-old tradition of supporting education in Maryland, and we are proud to partner with UMBC in helping the best students get a college education," said Sherry F. Bellamy, president and CEO of Bell Atlantic - Maryland. "Our grants will make a positive difference in the lives of these young people."

"Like many businesses, Bell Atlantic depends upon a work force with information technology skills," said Majid Naderkhani, president of Bell Atlantic's Telecom Group Systems. "We are excited about the Bell Atlantic scholars program at UMBC because it will help create a qualified pool of future employees for the telecommunications industry."

Persons interested in applying for the Bell Atlantic Foundation Scholars Program at UMBC should call (410) 455-6836.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), is a suburban Maryland university with outstanding students, a faculty devoted to research and teaching, and an impressive track record placing students in leading graduate programs and promising careers. Located just outside Baltimore, UMBC's 10,000 students come from nearly every state in the U.S. and 80 foreign countries. The campus is home to the nationally known Meyerhoff Scholars Program, The Shriver Center, and a number of major research centers.

The Bell Atlantic Foundation supports a variety of projects domestically and internationally, with an emphasis on new technology applications in education, health and human services, the arts and humanities, and civic development in the communities served by Bell Atlantic. For more information, visit www.bellatlanticfoundation.com on the Internet.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the new communications and information industry. With 43 million telephone access lines and nine million wireless customers worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23 countries.

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Posted by dwinds1 at May 26, 1999 12:00 AM